A Night With Sea Turtle Hatchling Rescue in Fort Lauderdale

Here is a heartbreaking video from YouTube, posted by an activist group known as Sea Turtle Oversight Protection. It's called "Ten Minutes in the Night of a Rescue Volunteer." The date of the clip is the evening of July 10, and a map shows the location where it was shot: on the sand behind the Sheraton Yankee Clipper and a bit farther south at the Point of Americas condos, where plenty of sea turtle nests can be found.

On it, you'll see activists attempting to guide some tiny sea turtle hatchlings in the right direction, i.e., toward the ocean. Unfortunately, the little dudes keep heading straight for the lights of Port Everglades, A1A -- or for the bright chandeliers of an empty ballroom at the Yankee Clipper.

There's also footage of an adult female trying to dig a hole to lay her
eggs, only to get her head caught in a tangle of beach chairs. The next
scene takes place at the hotel's front desk, where at attempt is made to get
the keys to unlock the chairs.

At one point, the volunteer,
trying to get the babies back in the sea, says, "You're going the wrong
way, and you're two feet from the water!" Sadly, life seems to deal the
baby turtles a harsh blow right from the beginning -- in clear violation
of Fort Lauderdale's lighting ordinance.

If you can watch this
without getting choked up, you might be slightly less than
human.